The battlefield shimmered with otherworldly energy. Floating towers cast long shadows against the sky as two teams stood across a ruined cityscape, separated by vast marble courtyards and broken bridges.
"Welcome to the battleground of the Rating Game between Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex," Grayfia's voice echoed across the arena, infused with power. She stood suspended midair, her silver hair flowing in the artificial wind. "The rules are standard elimination. Victory is achieved by incapacitating all members of the opposing team or by forcing their King to surrender. Begin."
In a flash of teleportation magic, both peerages scattered into position. Issei, Kiba, and Koneko found themselves atop a broken clock tower.
"Let's get to it," Kiba said, drawing his sword. "We'll stick to the plan: isolate and strike."
Issei nodded. "Got it. Protect Rias. Punch Riser. Don't die."
From another end of the battlefield, Riser stood calmly in a ruined chapel, surrounded by his peerage. Despite the grandeur of the scene, something inside him churned.
"We begin," Riser said. His voice was confident, but his inner monologue told a different story.
The flames within me feel... different. Not the proud inferno of a Phenex, but something colder. Hungrier.
A brief flicker of darkness passed over his eyes. His queen, Yubelluna, noticed.
"Riser-sama?"
He waved a hand. "Nothing. Let us go."
But deep within his soul, a voice chuckled.
Yes... let us begin.
---
Back with the Gremory group, Rias and Akeno coordinated the team from a high tower. Magical projections mapped the terrain.
"They're splitting into two assault units and a defense squad," Akeno noted. "Riser is staying back... but his power signature is unstable."
Rias frowned. "He's masking something. Be careful."
Issei and Kiba encountered Riser's knights near a collapsed coliseum. Blades clashed and energy cracked the stone beneath them.
"You're persistent," one of the knights sneered.
"You're not stopping me from reaching Riser!" Issei roared, his Boosted Gear glowing crimson. "Boost! Boost!"
With a punch that shattered stone, Issei broke the knight's guard. Kiba moved like wind, elegant and deadly.
Koneko, meanwhile, intercepted Riser's rook, their fists clashing in brutal rhythm.
In the shadows, unseen by both sides, a ripple passed through the mirror of reality.
Amon stood in the void between glass and truth. Watching. Waiting.
"And so the threads tighten," he mused, his voice like silk wrapped around steel. "Riser's soul is ready to crack... and Issei shines ever brighter."
He placed a gloved hand on the glass.
"Time to turn the flame."
---
Back in the battlefield, Riser moved into the fray, his flames wreathing his body. But this time, there was something new. A violet hue coiled through his fire, distorting its purity.
Yubelluna hesitated. "Riser-sama... are you sure you're well?"
"Perfectly fine," Riser said, but his voice echoed slightly—two tones speaking at once.
He faced Akeno with a smirk.
"Let's dance, priestess."
Akeno narrowed her eyes. "Very well. But I'm not kind to demons."
Their clash lit up the sky—lightning meeting hellfire. But Akeno's strikes began to falter as Riser's flames twisted, moving unnaturally.
"Your power... it's corrupted," she hissed.
"Is that what you call evolution?" Riser answered, laughter leaking from somewhere else.
---
Back in the observation room of the underworld, Sirzechs and Serafall watched the fight unfold on magical screens.
"Something's wrong with Riser," Serafall said. "That fire isn't Phenex-born."
Sirzechs clenched his fists. "Amon. He's inside him. Or connected. Azazel was right."
He turned to a communications circle. "Alert the backup team. If things spiral, we intervene."
---
Meanwhile, Amon's smile widened.
"Just a bit more," he whispered. "Let the boy break... so I may step into the sun."
And in the heart of the battlefield, Riser screamed—a howl of pain and power—as violet-black flames consumed him.
Issei turned, his instincts flaring. "Something's wrong. Rias, I'm going for him!"
"Wait!" Rias called, but he had already taken flight.
Toward the fire. Toward the shadow. Toward the truth that waited within Riser's twisted soul.